1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system of custom index tabs to provide a user with greater versatility in separating a stack of documents to be bound together into different sections utilizing separator pages with index tabs thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present there are several different systems of index tabs that are typically employed to divide a stack of papers suitable for binding in a three-ring binder or otherwise into different sections. One conventional system employs die cut separator pages which have a main body or base portion of a size and shape substantially identical to the size and shape of papers in the stack, and also outwardly projecting index tabs. Separator pages of this type are typically sold in sets with the index tab on each separator page in the set being formed at a particular longitudinal location along the length of one of the unbound edges of the separator page. This unbound edge is typically the edge opposite the edge at which the papers are to be bound.
Separator pages of this type have a considerable disadvantage due to the permanent position of the index tabs thereon. That is, the position of each index tab longitudinally along the edge of each separator page within a set is fixed and cannot be altered.
Very typically users of separator pages of this type greatly prefer for the index tabs projecting from the separator pages to commence in an ordered sequence beginning at one end of a tabbed edge and progressively advancing with incremental offsets toward the opposite end of the tabbed edge. For example, a set of papers is often divided into sections and carried in a conventional three-ring binder. The papers are therefore punched with three holes spaced along the left-hand edge. Very typically separator pages are provided with index tabs projecting outwardly therefrom along their common opposite, right-hand edges.
For a portfolio of the contents of a three-ring binder to have an organized, professional appearance, it is desirable for the index tab of the first separator page, proceeding either from the top or from the bottom of the stack of documents, to reside near the upper right-hand corner at the top of the tabbed edge of the separator pages. The next sequential separator page preferably has an index tab located a spaced distance further down the tabbed edge. The next sequential separator page preferably has an index tab offset from the first two an even greater distance from the top along the tabbed edge. The index tabs proceed in sequentially advanced offset arrangement in this fashion until reaching the separator page in which the index tab is at the lowermost location near the bottom of the tabbed edge. The sequence is then repeated.
The reason for the advancing offset in the index tabs of sequential separator pages is to provide for maximum visibility of all of the index tabs from above the stack of papers. That is, it is highly desirable for the index tabs of the separator pages to advance in such a sequence so that those index tabs near the top of the stack of papers do not cover up and hinder viewing of the index tabs of the separator pages that are located deeper in the stack. The sequence of offset advancement in the location of the index tabs may either commence from the top of the stack of the papers toward the bottom, or from the bottom of the stack of papers toward the top. In either case the longitudinal offset of the tabs on the sequential separator pages minimizes the extent to which the tabs of the separator pages deeper in the stack are obscured by those located thereabove.
One difficulty with the fixed index tab arrangement in conventional separator pages is that sections within a set of papers, such as those carried in a three-ring binder, are frequently inserted, removed, and sometimes rearranged. Different sections are added to update the portfolio to include more current material, and sections are sometimes removed to delete obsolete material. As a consequence, the orderly progressive advancement of the locations of the index tabs along the tabbed edges of the sequential separator pages is frequently disrupted. As a result, the index tabs often tend to obscure each other, and also present an unsightly, disorganized appearance.
A further difficulty with conventional separator pages is the considerable amount of waste that occurs with each separator page set. That is, the separator page in each set in which the index tab is located uppermost near the top of the tabbed edge is utilized in virtually every set of papers to be tabbed. However, depending upon the number of sections into which the set of papers is to be divided, there are inevitably a number of separator pages with index tabs located further down the tabbed edge, that are not used. As a consequence, for each complete set of separator pages that are purchased, only a portion of these separator pages within the set can ever utilized in the manner for which they were designed.
A further difficulty with conventional separator pages is the inflexibility in uniformity of spacing of the index tabs from top to bottom along a tabbed edge. That is, sometimes only a few separator pages are required to divide a set of papers into sections. If the user selects the initial separator pages in sequential order in the sequence in which they are intended to be used, the index tabs thereof are all crowded near the upper portion of the tabbed edge of the set of papers. If a user attempts to space the tabs more uniformly by selecting the separator pages out of sequence the entire sequence of use of the separator pages is disrupted. For example, if a set of papers is to be divided into only three sections, utilizing only three separator pages, the user could select the initial separator page having an index tab near the top of the tabbed edge, a separator page from the middle of the planned sequence having an index tab at the center, and a final separator page in the sequence having an index tab near the bottom of the tabbed edge. While this will accommodate the particular set of documents involved, it disrupts the orderly sequence of the unused separator pages, thus often rendering them unusable for other purposes.
Another type of index tabbing system that is utilized employs index tabs that are initially detached from separator pages, and which can be permanently attached thereto when a set of papers is to be divided into sections. Such index tabs typically employ gummed, moisture sensitive adhesive on the portion of the index tab that is to be affixed to a separator page. This system does allow flexibility in the initial positioning of the separator tabs along the tabbed edges of a set of papers. However, once such index tabs are attached to the separator pages, their locations thereon cannot be altered. Therefore, if different sections are added or removed from a binder at a later time, the orderly progression of the index tabs along the tabbed edges of the separator pages is disrupted, as with separator pages manufactured with index tabs at fixed positions thereon. Also, very frequently the adhesive on such gummed index tabs fails over a period of time, and the tabs fall off.